Nearly 20 men dressed in yarmulkes, payess and prayer shawls threw their fists in the air
and shouted "Hey!" before heeding Mr. Coyotes call for quiet.

The assembled men were not, as it may have looked, wading into the increasingly murky
waters of Middle Eastern politics. They were filming a comedy. Though matters Jewish tend
to be fraught with anger, sadness and tension these days, a group of young filmmakers
financed by producer Ed Pressman are hoping to make moviegoers laugh until they plotz with
what may be the worlds first "Jewxploitation" movie, a Hebraic homage to
Shaft called The Hebrew Hammer.

The Hammer, a.k.a. Mordechai Jefferson Carver, is the creation of first-time
writer-director and University of Southern California film-school graduate Jonathan
Kesselman. Carver, played by Saving Private Ryan actor Adam Goldberg, is a private eye who
wears leather and payess and drives a souped-up Cadillac painted to look like an Israeli
flag on wheels. He is variously referred to in the script as "a baaaad Jewish
brother," "the baaddest Heeb this side of Tel Aviv" and a "Semitic
super stud." And according to the script, the Hammer must summon all of his badness
to battle the evil son of Santa Clausplayed by Andy Dickwhos trying to
abolish Hanukkah.

Mr. Goldberg got the part after the Big Three of Jewish actorsDavid Schwimmer, Adam
Sandler and Ben Stillerturned it down. According to producer Sofia Sondervan, all
three passed because "they were too big for this."

Goldberg said, "The film, taken on the surface in the sort of current political
context, could be misconstrued. It is not taking a stance on Israeli politics or the
Middle East, even though a lot of that imagery is used. It is an out-and-out parody of
these blaxploitation films of the 70s."

So far, the filmmakers said, there has been only positive reaction from the Orthodox
communities in which the bulk of the film has been shot.

Ms. Sondervan, one of the films producers, said that when she worked on
Miramaxs 1998 film about the Hasidic community, A Price Above Rubies, production was
regularly stopped by protesters in Brooklyns devout Orthodox Jewish Boro Park
neighborhood. This may have had something to do with Texan Renée Zellweger being cast as
a Hasidic housewife.

Lazer Lichtenstein, a 29-year-old Modern Orthodox Jew from Boro Park, was among the extras
taking part in the scene with Mr. Coyote, who plays the head of the Jewish Justice League.
Mr. Lichtenstein said that this was his second day of extra work. On the first, hed
shot a scene at the Cotton Club in Harlem, which had been renamed the Golden Menorah.

"I have not been offended at all," said Mr. Lichtenstein. "I really
dont care what other people say. Its just a comedy, a fun thing. I had a
couple of friends with me. We were chilling out with the cast and everything, taking
pictures on the set."

Of course, the Orthodox community arent the only ones in danger of getting offended.
A recent script with the Jewish Justice League scene included a character named
"Harvey WeinsteinChairman, Worldwide Jewish Media Conspiracy." In the
screenplay, the fictional Mr. Weinstein haggled with fellow League members about the
relative merits of Adam Sandler movies and suggested that David Copperfield might be a
good hero to battle Evil Santa.

As it turns out, the filmmakers had approached New Yorks Harvey Weinstein,
co-chairman of Miramax Films, to play the fictional one, but he declined to take part in
the movie.

"I understand that his people didnt want him to participate," said Mr.
Pressman, The Hebrew Hammers executive producer.

Mr. Pressman, who has long been a patron of maverick writer-directorshe has either
produced or executive-produced Terrence Malicks Badlands, Abel Ferraras The
Bad Lieutenant and Oliver Stones Wall Streetwas visiting the set
for the Jewish Justice League scene and said that he had hoped to keep the name and use a
look-alike Mr. Weinstein. But, he added, the productions "lawyers said we
couldnt get away with it."

Perhaps the lawyers changed their minds, because when George Hosmerthe dark-haired,
heavyset actor chosen to play Mr. Weinsteinhit his marks wearing a black
mock-turtleneck sweater under a gray suit, he looked more than a little like
Miramaxs front man.

Mr. Weinsteins spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, begged to differ, however: "There
are plenty of dark-haired, heavyset Jews, but theres only one Harvey," he said.

When The Transom asked Mr. Hosmer if he was trying to channel Mr. Weinstein in his
performance, he smiled. "Just a smidge," he said. The actor quickly added,
"Its a composite of lots of different producers," and he also casually
mentioned that he is "a great admirer of Harvey."

Of course he is.

The script also calls for a scene in which the Hammer penetrates Santas North Pole
lair to find Senator and former Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman tied to a
chair. Mr. Pressman said that a professional Lieberman impersonator had already been
fitted for his costume, but backed out because "he thought it would be in bad
taste." But the faux Lieberman was quickly replaced by the actual Ed Koch. Mr.
Pressman said that a few weeks ago, the former Mayor of New York gamely allowed himself to
be tied to a chair and abused by Mr. Dick.

Rock in Hammer?

While he was at U.S.C. film school, Mr. Kesselman, now 27, made a short about the Hebrew
Hammer that screened at the Austin Film Festival in Texas and got him a lot of attention
in Hollywood. Around the time that Mr. Kesselman was graduating from U.S.C., he was
beginning to talk about turning Hammer into a full-length feature with Marc Platt, who has
a production deal with Universal Pictures.

According to Mr. Kesselman, Universal producers saw the project as a "black/Jewish
buddy picture." Ms. Sondervan was franker when she said, "Marc Platt wanted to
make a Chris Rock vehicle."

Producer Lisa Fragner soon found the project and brought it to the attention of Ms.
Sondervan, who in turn brought it to Mr. Pressman, who, last September, had founded the
ContentFilm production company with former October Films co-founder John Schmidt.

Mr. Pressman decided to include the film in his companys first slate of pictures,
which includes the Sept. 11 drama The Guys with Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia;
Party Monster with Macaulay Culkin and Marilyn Manson; The Cooler with William H. Macy;
and the psychological thriller Love Object.

In return for being one of Mr. Pressmans "discovered" directors, Mr.
Kesselman has entered the low-budget world of independent filmmaking: more than 30
locations in 22 days! What Mr. Goldberg called "limited Craft Service
offerings!" Extras culled from the crew!

Among the authentic Orthodox Jews in the Jewish Justice League scene were a number of
goyim, including the sets still photographer, who Ms. Sondervan admitted to hiring
because he looked like Jude Law. The photographer was sporting unconvincing payess, as was
James Parvin, a half-Irish, half-Iranian filmmaker asked by Mr. Pressman to chronicle the
making of The Hebrew Hammer.

The film also features cameo appearances by non-Jew Nora Dunn of Saturday Night Live fame.
Ms. Dunn plays the Hammers mother, whos less concerned with saving
Hanukkah"It isnt even one of the high holidays!"than with the
fact that her "boychick is almost 30 and has yet to settle down."

The Hammers "Semitic siren" love interest, Esther
Bloomenbergensteinenthal, is played by a rail-thin shiksa from Michigan named Judy Greer,
who has appeared in The Wedding Planner and Jawbreaker.

"I mispronounced every word at my audition," Ms. Greer said with the nasal
flatness of a true Midwesterner. Her near-platinum blond tresses were also dyed darker for
her role.

Ms. Greer said she was enjoying her time as a Jewess and raved about the Shabbat dinner
she recently attended, along with Ms. Dunn and Mr. Goldberg, at the Long Island home of
the Kesselmans Orthodox Long Island family.

Jewish Notting Hill

"It was so fun. And they do that every week!" enthused Ms. Greer, who added that
"the food was so good! Id never eaten that way before, but now Im not
scared of it anymore!"

Mr. Kesselmans family had invited everyone they knew and kept Mr. Goldberg signing
autographs all night. "It was like a Jewish Notting Hill," said Mr. Kesselman,
referring to the scene in the romantic comedy where the movie star played by Julia Roberts
attends a dinner party with regular people.

Mr. Dick is cast as Damien, the son of Santa Claus, who orders his benevolent father gored
by a reindeer. The elder Claus dying words are "Et tu, Blitzen?"

"The reindeer took direction well," said Mr. Kesselman.

Apparently too well. One set source told The Transom that the reindeer assembled at
Brooklyns Floyd Bennett Field had actually attacked Mr. Dick. Ms. Sondervan conceded
that this was sort of true, though she added that "he was supposed to be yelling at
them for his Evil Santa character."

Actor Melvin Van Peebles, who wrote, directed and starred in 1971s blaxploitation
classic Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song, will make a cameo in The Hebrew Hammer
as Sweetback, and his son Mario is playing the head of the Kwanzaa Liberation Front.

Other appearances include current Saturday Night Live star Rachel Dratch as the
Hammers Long Island secretary. Mr. Pressman and Mr. Kesselman said that they had
also approached Mel Brooks about a small role, but that he turned down the part. They did
not say whether Mr. Brooks also thought he was too big for the small-budget film.